Poppy Oldroyd’s grades were “a testament to her incredible work”, according to headteacher Gordon Farquhar, who also praised a number of other students for achieving “truly outstanding results”.

Lilly Church ran Poppy close with 10 A*-A grades, while Harry Holmes, four A*s and four As, was the best performing boy. He was followed closely by Dan Shefford, who got two A*s and six As.

Mr Farquhar said: “These results are a testament to the hard work of these young people, not only have they done well but they have been one of the best year groups I have ever worked with.

“For those going on to pastures new I wish them all the very best, for those staying on I look forward to two more years in their company.”

Once again 82 per cent of students achieved A*-C in mathematics with an increase in those students achieving the top grades of A*-A. English results remained on a par with last year with 70 per cent of students achieving A*-C.

The number of students making and exceeding expected progress in English and maths has also risen, according to the school, while many subjects saw rises in the top grades.

Physics and art, in particular, achieved results well beyond national expectation.

Nationally, the proportion of GCSE exams awarded at least a C has gone up, with 68.8 per cent of entries scoring A*-C, up 0.7 percentage points on last year.

For the third year running the proportion of entries awarded A* has fallen, with 6.7 per cent achieving the highest grade, a dip from 6.8 per cent last year.

The A*-G pass rate is also down 0.3 percentage points, from 98.8 per cent in 2013 to 98.5 per cent.

• For more reaction on the GCSE results, check back on the Reporter’s website and pick up a copy of next week’s paper.